It has been customary for persons wishing to hang an item, such as a picture, mirror, door or other such object on a wall, to hold an item, such as a picture frame in the desired mounting position, and attempt, with a finger, pencil, or other object, to locate and mark the correct location for installation of the hanging hardware. This method is highly imprecise, and can be very awkward. With methods known to the inventor, the user can only mark the approximate location where the item should be placed. The pencil method has an additional disadvantage in that it makes disfiguring marks on the wall, often covering areas far removed from the actual hanger site, and sometimes, including random marks that are accidentally placed on the wall, when the pencil is inserted or removed. The finger method also has major disadvantages. Methods and devices used to hang pictures are generally not applicable to locating the position in a wall at which a doorway or other opening is to be defined, or locating the position in a floor at which an opening is to be defined.
Accordingly, hanging items such as pictures, mirrors, doors and other wall hangings has traditionally been an imprecise, awkward and frustrating procedure for most people, particularly when the elements supporting the item are concealed when the item is hung. When multiple people are involved or multiple items are to be hung in precise alignment to each other, the difficulty and frustration increases.
Since the result of the methods known to the inventor is the marking of the approximate location where the nail, or similar hardware, should be secured to the wall, frequently the person hanging the item has to reposition the nail or other hardware or elements associated with the item being hung, sometimes more than once, in order to get the desired result. This repositioning generally results in multiple disfiguring marks or holes on the wall, either from the pencil, the hanging hardware, or both. Some of these marks may be visible once the item is positioned. The disfiguring marks then may require repair, possibly including touch-up paint.
Most known picture hanging aids are directed to locating a position for a single hanger on a wall. Such devices are not useful for hanging large, heavy objects requiring use of two or more hangers to be securely hung. Nor are they useful in locating the position for a door or the like which will require a hole to be defined through a wall or through a floor. Devices directed to locating two picture hangers generally are complex and do not allow simple alignment of all types of hangers on a wall.
Therefore, there is a need for a simple device and method for locating and aligning one or more hangers of any type on a wall. There is a further need for a means and method for locating where a hole should be defined through a wall or a floor.